S.W. Lothian – Author

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This final book in the Hunger Games series was full of lessons. Be careful what you wish for, because what you get isn’t always what you expect. Having fought hard and beaten her enemies twice, Katniss finds herself amongst friends with a common cause.

In Catching Fire, she has been singled out as the most valuable tool they have against the oppressive government. Even though she’s with friends, she still feels like a puppet. Just a pawn used by others to fight a bigger battle. The plot clearly demonstrates the power of information, and sadly, it’s easily relatable back to our real world. It shows the cunning manipulation of the media by each side to project a story and image to the viewers. Everything is carefully created, carefully staged and carefully packaged. How could viewers ever know the full truth? Unfortunately, this is so synchronous with real life.

Both Peeta and Katniss had a role to play in the war. President Snow seemed to have all of the power. His ultimate plan was to use each one to destroy the other, but the battle wasn’t as easy as he had predicted. Although at times it was extremely difficult for them, Katniss and Peeta’s true character refused to be defeated.

If I swing the focus away from Katniss and Peeta  for a moment, I need to mention that I was heartened when Prim showed amazing wisdom beyond her young age. Like her sister before her, Prim had to grow up fast. She was a product of the tough experiences she had endured in her short life. Her life changing nomination for the games, the distress of her sister’s sacrifice to take her place, her sudden role reversal with her mother – needing to take over whenever Katniss was away. All of her strengths had built quietly in the background of the story, while the world focussed on Katniss. But, in the end, her strength helped inspire Katniss in her fight.

This book was full of action and energy, building towards what I expected would be a major showdown between Katniss and President Snow. I’m sorry to say that I was disappointed with the outcome of her mission. I felt there was no real fitting action-filled-I’ll-show-you-who’s-bad climax before the plot’s big twists were revealed. It’s a shame, because I really love this series and do recommend it as a great read. I felt that Katniss didn’t get the opportunity to deal with what happened to Prim, when it happened. That part of the story seemed a bit rushed to me. It wasn’t until after everything was revealed that she could react. It seemed too late for me. Now I need to watch the movie.

Please let me know in the comments below what you think about book vs movie. And if you’re not up to commenting, please like my post so I know you dropped by.

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The Hunger Games is a brilliant series. I’m glad that I finally jumped on the bandwagon and joined its fans. Even though I was a little disappointed with the outcome of this final book, Mockingjay, it is still an amazing series that I recommend it to all dystopian fans.

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Check out my other Hunger Games reviews below:

• The Hunger Games (HG1)
• Catching Fire (HG2)

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